Fatal Error
by Flying Star
Summary: His decision proved fatal. Rated K for some mild swearing.


Fatal Error

By Flying Star

Disclaimer: If I had a nickel for every time I was denied the rights, well, I'd have a lot of nickels. In other words, I don't own Code Lyoko.

1

Another tragic oneshot. Sometimes these ideas just pop into my head. Don't ask for sequel, for there won't be one.

His deepest fears having come true, all he can do is sit and wait...

1

_Italic: Thoughts_

**Bold: Emphasis**

1 : Section breaks

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**TERMINATED**

The words still flashed behind closed eyelids, though the message was long gone, the boy's body slumping down into the confines of the chair, listening, waiting...

A thump shattered the still quiet of the room, echoing from behind the sealed lift doors.

_It won't be long now. _He thought distantly as the sound picked up again, stronger now, more forceful.

Jeremie's eyes opened slowly, his head raising to the monitor. Empty, blank, a void, the screen as dark as he felt right now.

He shook his head, scowling as his fist struck the console surface. A second later his anger drained away as he watched the doors rattle in the screen's reflection, the movement blurring its image briefly.

All their years of fighting, everything they'd hoped to accomplish, gone in an instant. Everything he'd done to help, now unraveling before his very eyes. All because he'd made a mistake, one with fatal consequences, and now...

Another thump, the metal starting to buckle.

Jeremie stared at the blank screen, his mind trying to comprehend earlier events, poring over how everything had gone so very wrong, so quickly.

The day, he reflected grimly, had started out as it usually did, with him using his lunch time to work on Aelita's anti-virus configuration in his room. But his work had been interupted by her appearance, the sprite informing him of another tower activation. A seemingly routine task, since XANA's attacks were becoming quite common.

That was, until he found out the actual severity of it's newest one.

The actual attack had not been known until students starting falling ill, rushed to first the nurse, but then transferred to the hospital as their conditions worsened.

Reports of equipment malfunctions at the water treatment plants, brought clarity to the problem. For XANA's attack had involved using the city's water supply as it's means of causing havok. But not satisfied with creating a flood or anything of the like, it had instead infused the liquid with a deadly virus, one that he would've succumbed to also, if he'd not opted for a bottle of water, instead of the school's water fountains.

That was what most likely saved his life, and under different circumstances, he would've felt grateful.

_Not now though..._

His friends had ingested, to varying degrees, some of the tainted water, with Yumi and Odd telling him that other than a mild headache, they felt fine.

Ulrich, though, had not been so fortunate. His friend, having drank more than the others, had been rendered comatose, already dying from the poisonous brew. Just like the many others being rushed to the hospital.

Second by second, minute by minute, time had been vital. Ulrich's life, as well as many others, depending on the swift time reversal needed to avert countless deaths.

Knowing this, he'd told Yumi and Odd to get to the factory immediately. And they'd arrived within minutes, still seemingly unaffected as they'd rushed to the scanner room.

The look on Yumi's face, on their faces as the doors had closed. If only...

Anticipation for a quick resolution, had swiftly changed to horror as twin exclaimation points overlayed his friends virtual cards, giving immediate indication of a problem.

Checking on his part, confirmed what he had feared from the beginnning. That the infected water was now beginning to take it's toll on their bodies as well. But even weakened, they'd still insisted on venturing into Lyoko.

Anything to help in such a dire situation.

With the poison affecting not only their human, but also virtual bodies, quick devirtualization would be definite, and mostly likely fatal. It was a difficult decision to make, but with limited options he'd sent them in, hoping the fight would be quick. Immediately their life points had begun to dwindle, the virus sapping their strength with every step.

That's when all hell had broke loose, the situation going from bad to worse.

XANA had anticipated their weakened team, sending two Megatanks and three Crabs after the two. Not easy while at full health...

**TERMINATED**

Another broken pencil followed the many others into the trash, the frustrated genius pulling his gaze away from the screen.

His friends, had fought well. But in the end they too succumbed to the poison, their life points critically compromised to the point where they devirtualized from Lyoko. The simultaneous loss of life points coupled with XANA's virus, had been too much for their bodies to bear.

_Already dead before I reached them..._

But the worst was yet to come.

With Yumi and Odd deceased, and Ulrich possibly dead in the hospital, a shocked but determined Aelita had insisted on proceeding with the mission.

The demands of curing the dying populace had weighted heavily on his mind, prodding him, telling him to take the chance. Every second counted.

That's when he'd made his critical error, he'd let her go.

In hindsight, he should've told Aelita to stay put, to wait as he figured out a safer way around the remaining monsters.

But he hadn't, and in doing so, he'd done the unthinkable, leaving her exposed, vunerable. And XANA, not one to let a golden opportunity slip by, had exploited his mistake.

Jeremie glowered, clenching his fists as he heard another screeching thump sound behind him.

Her scream, had seemed to echo throughout the complex, hanging in the air as the message appeared before him, a mocking visual to her demise. The sprite's virtual card plastered with that damned word.

**TERMINATED**

It was all over now, with Aelita deleted, there was no way to reverse time. And even if there was another way, finding one could take years...

And he didn't have years, nor even hours...

He had nothing.

Jeremie's eyes squeezed shut again, feeling empty, lost. His very being wallowing in tepid darkness and despair, the boy now listening to the harsh banging coming in from behind with a detached feeling of numbness.

He knew why he was still alive for the moment. XANA, had wanted to see him suffer, to savor it's victory over the one who had defeated it time and time again.

But now his time was up, for through the security systems, he knew what lie outside the lift doors.

**TERMINATED**

That word again, seemingly burned into his retinas, mocking him, accusing him. He blinked, trying to rid himself of the image, but still it stayed, a constant reminder of his failure.

He bit his lip, tasting the blood seeping out as the hits striking the doors became more violent.

She was dead, and soon he would be...

She was dead, and soon he would be...

A mantra, no, a promise, repeating over and over again in his head, affirming his darkest thoughts.

She was dead, his friends were dead, and countless others were dying, all because of his error in judgement.

He knew his death was imminent, knew it...

The thick, metal door lock was bending unnaturally, straining to hold together.

...and didn't care.

With a final strike, the door burst open.

The End.

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See, when I have a bad day, the characters suffer as well. Seems to be a pattern with me, write a sweet, happy fic, then follow with a dark, hopeless one. The idea actually struck me while I was driving, and I tried to remember as much as I could. By the way, the main part of the idea, was to have an attack that struck down the team so swiftly, that Jeremie had to make a split decision as to what to do. There was the right way, and the wrong way. Unfortunately he chose wrong. This was a worst case scenaro fic. As to what's behind the door, I think it's pretty obvious. So anyway, as usual, if you read, please review. I like people's thoughts.


End file.
